Blue Nile Expanding, WebMD Going Mobile

News from the National Retail Federation was no doubt a pleasant surprise: for the 2009 holiday season, retail sales grew 1.1% to $446.8 million over the previous year’s November and December sales, compared with the 1% decline that the federation had projected earlier. Holiday sales were driven by the apparel segment, in which December sales grew 7% over the year. The health and personal care segment saw sales grow 5% over the year, and sporting goods, hobby, book & music store sales grew 4% over the year. >>>

What Went Wrong With Palm?

Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) seems to be floundering. It recently reported mixed results – earnings were better than expected but smartphone sell-through was highly disappointing. Let’s take a closer look at what went wrong. >>>

Nokia In The United States

According to a recent IDC report, Nokia (NYSE:NOK) is the world’s biggest converged mobile phone maker with about 38% share in Q4 2009. However, it has a poor presence in the U.S. market, which is dominated by RIM and Apple. >>>

Synopsys Likely To Roll-Up The EDA Sector

Analysts are projecting positive trends for the electronics industry in the current year, with estimates ranging from 7% to 9% annual growth. Also, investment in R&D is expected to return after slowing last year. The increased demand is expected to drive growth in the semiconductor industry.

Conservative estimates predict 2010 to be a year of stabilization for the EDA space followed by growth in 2011, and 2010 is expected to be a year of industry consolidation. The largest player, Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS), is already acquiring smaller players in the market and will continue to do so. Cadence is trading at half of Synopsys’ market cap, which makes their acquisition currency weaker. Let’s take a look at the last quarter’s happenings. >>>

Dolby Eyeing 3D Market

Dolby Laboratories Inc (NYSE: DLB) has been taking a keen interest in the 3D market. And thanks to it, we now have a new generation of 3D films. 2009 ended with “Avatar,” and “Alice in Wonderland” was recently released. The 3D market is dominated by RealD, but with Dolby’s 3D technology, even regular theaters can screen 3D movies. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

A Strong Autodesk Looks Toward China, 3D

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) recently announced Q4 numbers that were up sequentially with less of a year-on-year decline. Revenues of $456 million fell 7% over the year but grew 9% over the quarter. EPS of $0.30 was a penny lower than the previous year’s earnings and grew 10% over the previous quarter’s EPS of $0.27. Analysts were projecting revenues of $432 million with earnings of $0.23 per share. >>>

Hope For TiVo; Garmin’s Flawed Strategy

Last quarter, we saw how Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN) and TiVo (NASDAQ:TIVO) declined in the face of increasing competition in their core businesses. While the integration of navigation applications in smartphones is eating into Garmin’s personal navigation devices (PND) business, TiVo is losing subscribers with the advent of broadband and competing services such as Hulu, Netflix, and iTunes. But its recent performance provides a glimmer of hope. >>>

News Corp’s Gangbuster Quarter

The New York Times announced recently that it will adopt a metered model of charging viewers for online content from next year. News Corp ((NASDAQ:NWSA) is already successfully monetizing content with its WSJ.com site. The company’s recent results reflect its ability to charge for superior online content. >>>